RUSSIA PERSPECTIVE

Summary:

1) Introduction.
2) Maps and Flag.
3) Borders.
4) Relief.
5) Climate.

1) INTRODUCTION:

Russia is a country divided between Eastern Europe and North Asia. In Russian, the name of the country is Rossija.

Capital: Moscow.
Population (2014): 143.8 million inhabitants.
Gross Domestic Product - GDP (2014): $ 18.61 trillion.
Currency : Russian Ruble.

2) MAP AND FLAG:

RUSSIA MAP

RUSSIA FLAG

3) BORDERS:

Russia is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean (Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea); in the east, by the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait (which separates Russia from Alaska), the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan; to the south, by North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Black Sea; to the west, by Ukraine, Byelorussia, Latvia, Estonia, the Baltic Sea (Gulf of Finland), Finland and Norway. Russia have the enclave, located between Lithuania and Poland, and a number of islands in the Arctic Ocean (Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlia, Severnaya Zemlia, New Siberian Archipelago) , Wrangel Island), and in the Pacific Ocean (Kuril Islands, Sakhalin Island).

The Russian state is a federal republic containing 21 republics (including Tataria and Chechnya), 6 territories (krai), 49 regions (oblast), 10 autonomous districts (avtonomnyi okroug), the Jewish autonomous region of Birobidzhan (on the Love, Far East) and two cities of federal status, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Some borders are contested (Crimea, Kuril Islands) while the rise of regionalisms since the end of the USSR threatens the internal cohesion of the country.

4) RELIEF:

Russia can seperated into four major geographical regions: European Russia, West of the Urals, Western Siberia, Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East. The general relief consists of vast plains and plateaus, bordered on the south and east by a discontinuous belt of high peripheral mountains. Immensity and general flatness give the landscapes a strongly monotonous character.

Russia in Europe (Western Russia) is a vast plain with an average altitude of about 180 m. There are however some heights: Khibiny mountains (1,191 m), in the Kola peninsula; Valdai plateau (321 m), west of Moscow. It is on the latter that the river network of the European plain (Dniepr, Volga, Daugava) is born. Quaternary glaciations have left their mark here, particularly in the northwest where they are responsible for many lacustrine basins (Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega). The last glaciation, which ended about 14,000 years ago, left a long frontal moraine, from the Belarussian border to the Arctic coast, west of the mouth of the Pechora. The southern part of the European plain is characterized by very fertile soils of black earth (Chernozem), especially in the basins of Don, Volga and Kuban.

To the south, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, stands the mountainous barrier of the Caucasus, a young, strongly seismic mountain. The Greater Caucasus in the north direction is the border with Georgia and Azerbaijan. It rises to 5 642 m altitude at the summit of Mount Elbrus, extinct volcano and highest mountain in Europe.

To the east of the Yenisei lie the central Siberian plateaus, which rise between 300 and 1,200 meters above sea level. The area, broken by ditches (Lake Baikal) and deep canyons, has many mineral deposits. At the southern borders stands a high mountain barrier formed by the Altai (Mount Beloukha, 4,506 m) and the Saiyan Mountains (Mounkou Sardyk, 3,491 m).

5) CLIMATE:

Most of Russia's territory is subject to a severe continental climate, with long, cold winters, hot but short summers, and reduced intermediate seasons. Most of the country has more than 120 days of freezing a year. Several factors intervene: the high latitude, the immense continental extension and the absence of moderating maritime influence.

The latitude largely explains the cold. Russia is a Nordic country, crossed by the Arctic Circle, and almost 85% About 100% of the territory is north of the 50th parallel. The absence of northern reliefs facilitates the penetration of cold polar air masses. In contrast, the high mountains along the southern border virtually prohibit any penetration of tropical air masses. Because of the vastness of the mainland, the bordering oceans have only a very weak moderating effect. The shores of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan are ice-ridden several months a year.

Official website : http://archive.government.ru/en/

Illustration Credits : Muhammad Sharjeel

RUSSIA PERSPECTIVE